Morgan Freeman honored with AFI award

Clint Eastwood, Helen Mirren and Sidney Poitier were some of the many stars who paid tribute to Morgan Freeman at a special tribute night on Thursday.

Freeman was awarded the Life Achievement Award by the American Film Institute at the event, and was introduced by his regular collaborator Clint Eastwood.

"He is the most effortless person to be around and to act," Eastwood said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "I don't know if it's proper to love another man, but this is as close as I'm going to get to it."

Others who made speeches in Freeman's honor included his The Shawshank Redemption co-star Tim Robbins and Red co-star Helen Mirren.

"This is easy to take but hard to believe," Morgan said, when accepting the award. "Where I come from in Mississippi, they call this walking in high cotton.

"For me, heaven has always been about acting in the movies. I'm proud to be an actor, although for this one night, you've made me feel like a star."

Despite working in the industry from a young age it wasn't until the age of 50 that Freeman truly found success as an actor with his Academy Award-nominated role in the 1987 film Street Smart.